My fiance and I knew what we wanted in a venue from the start: a garden area for the ceremony and an indoor area for the reception. Since September weather can be fickle, we thought that having an indoor reception would be ideal and also serve as a backup to the ceremony location in case of rain or extreme heat. We also wanted the ceremony and reception to be at the same location so we wouldn't have to deal with transportation to and from, and paying our vendors for travel costs. Here were our top three contenders:
We toured Wine & Roses first and were impressed with their services and amazing menus. They seemed to include a lot that others did not, like the cake/cutting, champagne toast, wedding coordination, and a hotel room the night of the wedding for the bride and groom. We were concerned, however, with their high food and beverage minimums, especially for a Saturday evening wedding, which we were originally shooting for. So, we thought we would keep looking and we set out to tour The Flower Farm. Growing up near Loomis I was familiar with the area and felt very comfortable with the location. The Flower Farm just seemed quaint and down to earth, which was refreshing. The gardens weren't as impressive as they were pictured online, but it was late October after all, so things weren't exactly in bloom. We found the venue from a caterer's website and we were excited that they worked with a caterer who we know is great, and their kitchen facilities on site were impressive! The biggest downfall was that they required you to rent all rooms at the inn in order to book an event there. This added $1300 or so to the total cost of the venue...ouch! So, we decided to keep looking. Next was Newcastle Wedding Gardens, and yes, the gardens WERE as amazing as they looked online! The grounds are breathtaking and it is the perfect mixture of quaint and elegant. We weren't too impressed with the menu though. For the price, Wine & Roses included a lot more. We were also disappointed that the bridal party is not allowed to get ready at the site at all, and the bride can only change into her dress there, no hair and makeup preparation. So, after much discussion and lots of internet research, we made our decision to go with Wine & Roses in Lodi, CA . We switched to a Friday wedding, which saved us over $5000! We also found a special through their website...if you booked within 14 days of your tour you received $10 off per person and 25% off the facility fee!!! Now that made Wine & Roses an easy choice! Here are some pictures:
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